Qiuying Kou: I Can't Forgot

Mixed-media sculptures by Qiuying Kou exploring the enduring presence of trauma and the fragile boundary between healing, memory and forgetting. About Healing is not forgetting. I Can't Forgot explores the enduring presence of psychological trauma and the complex relationship between memory, emotional pain and the passage of time. Through mixed-media sculpture, Qiuying Kou examines the invisible wounds that remain long after their original causes have disappeared. While the external signs of suffering may gradually fade, their emotional traces often persist, quietly shaping how individuals perceive themselves, others and the world around them. Drawing on the idea that healing does not necessarily mean forgetting, Kou reflects on the fragile boundary between recovery and repression. Her work considers how painful experiences become embedded in memory, resurfacing through emotions, sensations and unconscious responses, even when life appears to have returned to normal. Rather than presenting trauma as a single moment of suffering, I Can't Forgot approaches it as an ongoing psychological condition — one that exists between remembering and forgetting, vulnerability and resilience, absence and presence. Through the physical language of sculpture, the exhibition gives form to experiences that often remain intangible and unspoken, inviting viewers to reflect on the emotional weight of memory and the quiet complexities of human survival. Ultimately, I Can't Forgot asks whether healing is truly the disappearance of pain, or the gradual process of learning to live alongside what cannot be forgotten. Organised by ADArt and Peking University Association United Kingdom. Curated by Yu Zitong. Sponsored by Chestertons. Read more Toggle Sculpture Mixed media